Star Wars director Jon Favreau teases Mandalorian role for Taika Waititi
Did Favreau give fans a clue on Instagram that Waititi could be the voice of robot bounty hunter IG-88?
A new clue might just indicate that Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is not only slated to guest direct an episode of Star Wars: The Mandalorian series, but may also be voicing the robot bounty hunter IG-88.
On Thursday, The Mandalorian director and producer Jon Favreau posted a new photo on Instagram without a caption showing Waititi behind a microphone while looking at a screen with IG-88 prominently displayed, during a post-production recording session.
Skeptics could argue that Waititi isn't voicing IG-88, but merely directing the episode that has IG-88 in it. But with the presence of microphones, it seems more likely that Waititi could be lending his voice to the familiar robot character.
Lucasfilm, Favreau and Waititi did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
The new Star Wars series will be set seven years after Return of the Jedi (so six years after the Empire's final defeat at the Battle of Jakku and 23 years before The Force Awakens) and will focus on all-new characters.
But judging by that new Instagram photo, perhaps we'll get a few other older characters along with IG-88, who fans first saw in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back.
In addition to Waititi, other guest directors for the series will include Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa and Deborah Chow.
The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal of Game of Thrones as a lone Mandalorian gunfighter, alongside Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Carl Weathers, Omid Abtahi, Werner Herzog and Nick Nolte.
The new Star Wars series will be exclusive to the direct-to-consumer streaming service Disney+, which is set to launch in the US in late 2019.
